Lelouch of the Reclamation
by Ragez
Summary: Follow the story of the Code Geass universe centuries beyond the war between the Black Knights and Britannia; to an age where humanity has colonised the stars. But a new enemy, the Covenant, has appeared and threatens to make Humanity extinct. It is up to John-117 and those few that have remained from the past to save both Humanity and C's world itself.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I: Arrival

_-2291 ATB, 162 years after the Zero Requiem-_

The jubilant cheers of the crowd were only to be expected, as today was a day for celebration; for merriment and joy dedicated to not only an anniversary of one of the most world changing events in history, but also towards anticipation for a new horizon: Towards the endless vistas of space itself. For today was not only the 273rd anniversary of the Demon Emperor's death, it was the dawning of a new age for humanity

The United Federation of Nations Space Command, the UNFNSC for short, formed after the wars against the colonists on Mars by Empress Nunnally vi Britannia had made an announcement that would forever change the course of human history into a radical new direction. This announcement entailed a discovery that dwarfed any other in humanity's entire existence, a proclamation that would save the human race from stagnation forevermore.

From atop a float not all too dissimilar to the past Demon Emperor's float during the time of his death stood an immortal legend, the bringer of peace and justice, the masked crusader who appeared time and time again without fail to bring all evil to end whether by pen or by sword. How he had lived so long, 162 years after the death of every other person involved in the events of the war between Britannia and the Black Knights, was unknown. But the people trusted him nonetheless, a phantom guide for their never ending progress.

"To all the people of Earth, to all the Humans who reside on this vast planet of ours!" The masked man proclaimed loudly, his powerful and charismatic voice reverberating through the crowd, "Today is the day a new chapter opens up in our combined histories! The day Humanity takes a step forward into the endless void of space not in fear or with slow trepidation; but with boisterous speed which shall bring the heavens closer than we had ever imagined!"

"Today, our heroes Tobias Fleming Shaw and Wallace Fujikawa have completed their the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine. This engine will take us to the uncharted waters of the stars, faster than the speed of light itself!" Zero spoke, swishing his right hand faster than the eye could see for emphasis, "But shall we be content with merely charting these stars? Shall we simply use this engine, this wonderful blessing, for scientific exploration alone?"

The dark figure was silent for a moment, the crowd following his silence in breathless anticipation. But just as the crowd was beginning to show signs of confusion, Zero pointed a hand into the air; extending his index finger to the skies.

"_**Nay!**_"__ Zero bellowed, to the extreme surprise of the crowd who recoiled from the sheer power in Zero's refusal, "We shall **not **be content with waiting idly to satisfy our intellectual curiosity! We shall **not **waste this gift given to us by the minds of Mr. Shaw and Mr. Fujikawa!"

"With this Translight Engine, we shall not merely explore. We shall **colonize**!" Zero spoke, gripping his sky-outstretched hand tightly, "The entire universe is our limit now! And therefore the untouched land, resources, and possibilities of space shall be the source to humanity's everlasting and unstoppable growth! No longer shall we be limited by Earth's bounty, **no longer **are we limited to what the Solar System can offer us! For even now we are preparing ships for the colonization of other worlds, worlds far away from our Solar System; but brought close by our newfound ability to travel the hidden 'Slipstream' of reality! The pathway to our eternal glory!"

The cheers of the men, women, and children grew even louder in response to this proclamation. It was the day Humanity had been hoping for, the day brought upon only by all of Humanity uniting together for one cause. All across the world, Zero's speech was being televised; prompting revelry worldwide everywhere from in Britannian New York's Time Square, to the Middle Eastern Federation's Tahrir Square, to the Chinese Federation's Tiananmen Square. Now, Humanity would no longer have to fight over land or resources; they had now had enough of both to last them for endless millennia, possibly even forever.

"This date was the day of a new beginning for Humanity, with the death of the Demon Emperor: Lelouch vi Britannia. But on this day, at this very moment, Humanity is experiencing yet another drastic change; one that shall change much, but keep many things the same." Zero spoke, noticeably dwelling little on the Demon Emperor's death itself, "In the following days, weeks, and years after this moment; we shall have to focus all of our efforts to accomplish this momentous task. But be sure that at the end of this mild tribulation, this small stepping-stone in the way of our prosperity, is a reward that later generations shall forever thank us for. This reward is not only eternal growth, it is not only eternal peace, it is not only eternal satisfaction, and is not even eternal prosperity."

"It is eternal potential; the limitless possibility for what Humanity can become, for what we can evolve into not by the Darwinian policies of the mad Emperor Charles zi Britannia, nor by the brutal methods of the inhuman Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia." Zero declared, swinging his right hand to one side before bringing it in front of him, "But by the efforts of every single human being working together as one! For this, the expansion in the endless domain of the universe, is our fate! Our **destiny**! Our _**triumph**_!"

And with that final proclamation, defying possibility, the cheers of the crowd exploded with even more jubilation to the beginning of a new age as Zero waved to the passing crowd; looking to all the world as every bit the hero history had made him out to be.

_-Two Hours Later, Tokyo Government Palace-_

This palace, once the symbol of Britannian oppression in the former 'Area 11', was now the primary headquarters of the Japanese government; an important part of the United Federation of Nations. Currently, it was hosting a celebratory gala for the announcement of the Translight Engine; with Zero himself in attendance after the parade had finished. Many influential members of both Britannian and Japanese nationality were attending the gala, including Tobias Shaw and Wallace Fujikawa; a Britannian and a Japanese respectively. It was difficult to get close to the famous scientists, as they were the stars of the party; even more so than Zero himself.

Even so, when Zero finally approached the scientists; people made way for him out of reverence. Behind him was an important official from the Japanese government, along with a representative from Britannia; a Prince from the li Britannian line. The lineage of the Britanian royal families had been dying down in recent years, with the late Empress Nunnally vi Britannia having given birth to no children and the destruction of many other lines in the FLEIA bombing of Pendragon, so it was only the late Cornelia li Britannia's birth of four children (one of whom was currently Emperor) and the odd surviving Britannian line that was keeping the blood of the Royal family flowing through the ages. Zero invited the scientists to a more private room with the two officials, taking them away from the crowd in order to discuss more private matters.

The room had crimson walls, a fireplace, black carpeting, and several chairs with armrests arranged in a way that faced one another. It seemed to be one of several similar rooms, but this one was noticeably keyed towards Zero's needs. The masked man turned to the scientists, who sat down rather nervously in the comfortable leather chairs along with the officials. "So, I understand you have a few questions for me." Zero uttered, "As scientists of such fame and repute, who've done so much for their fellow man, I can hardly see how I could refuse such a request. Please, go ahead."

The two scientists looked at each other with some trepidation, before Tobias spoke their reply, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Zero. We've been running ahead full speed, inspired by your work, in our entire quest up until this point. I'd be prudent to say that were it not for you, we'd have never mustered up the courage to venture into this new and unknown science of Slipstream space."

Fujikawa then spoke up, "But, and you can be assured that we do not doubt your legacy and accomplishments, there was one question that was always at the back of our minds;" He said, looking down as if he was about to ask for the entire world from Zero "one nagging question we could never get rid of no matter how hard we worked…"

"You want to know if I'm the original Zero, correct?"

The Brittanian and Japanese scientists both looked up in shock, as did the governmental officials who seemed equally as eager to find out who Zero really were; and were surprised at Zero's casual disregard for such an important matter. Zero placed his hands to his mask, as if he was about to take it off, before pointing his index finger towards it instead. "The mask of Zero is a symbol, a symbol of hope to humankind; an undying figure needed to ensure the safety and security of our society. The one who bears this mask does so with the knowledge that he fights for no single nation or ideology; but for justice, peace, and progress to all of humanity."

"I apologize, I truly do." Zero spoke, bringing his hand down from the mask, "But your question shall remain unanswered, for it is of no importance whether or not I am the original Zero. Only that I am Zero; and that I carry the same will as I did 164 years ago upon the day when my revolution begun."

The two scientists looked slightly disappointed at that, as did the government officials, but they took little offense at it; smiling at Zero's response. "I guess that's all we really needed to hear, Zero." Shaw said, scratching his head with a grin. The Japanese scientist was similarly inclined, facing Zero with a polite smile as he spoke, "We apologize for having asked such a question, but it was important to us as you understand."

Zero nodded, and the two scientists and officials both got up from their chairs, "As it should be; I doubt there is a single person alive that does not doubt my true identity. But it matters little, since as I had spoken before; Zero's role is by necessity unending."

Tobias turned to Zero with a smile as his colleague opened the door, "That's fair, I guess we'll just stick with revolutionizing interstellar travel then."

With that, the four left the room. Leaving Zero alone in the fire-lit chamber. Another door then suddenly opened up behind Zero, startling him for a bit, before a familiar female figure walked through the door; the masked man's shoulder's sagging in relief as he took a seat and placed a hand on his mask. "That was tiring, really tiring; way more than I've been pacing myself these past few days."

The woman sighed in annoyance, twirling around what looked like a headset microphone, "Really, you should be glad I'm there to tell you what to say. I'd hate to see what Zero would become if his speechwriter and _basic conversation advisor _wasn't present for even a single day."

Zero was silent as he removed his mask, placing it on a nearby table. The woman couldn't see his face, obscured by the tall armchair with its back to her, but she already knew who he was anyway. "C.C, do you think _he'd_ be happy with what we've accomplished so far? How far we've progressed?"

The green haired immortal woman huffed in indignation, "Don't be absurd; he'd never be happy no matter how big the UFNSC got. He probably wouldn't be satisfied until we have a bloody uncontested galactic empire."

The man in the chair laughed, a sad laugh tainted by years upon years of tragedy, but still hopeful and happy, "That's true I guess, you knew Lelouch better than anybody after all." Zero replied, before pausing for a moment, "What about _her_? What would she think?"

C.C was caught off guard for a moment, losing her composure, before regaining it and smiling at Zero, "I'm sure Nunnally's as happy as she could be right now; she left the world in a better place than she was born in it, and you've done a great job in making her dream into a reality."

Zero didn't reply, keeping silent for a few more moments in contemplation before picking up the mask once more and placing it on his head.

It was heavier than usual.

_Alright, so this is my second attempt at a Code Geass/Halo Crossover fanfic; focusing on more recognizable characters from both universes. This prologue takes place as sort of an explanation as to what's happening in the universe, before I skip straight to 2525 ATB with the familiar characters of Halo appearing more and more often alongside the Covenant._

_I'll be taking a different approach with this fanfic in several ways, but you can be sure that a lot of descendent characters from Code Geass (and often times the characters themselves) shall appear in this fanfic. In regards to why the fic is named Lelouch of the Reclamation, well, you'll see why in a few chapters I suppose._

_So, again, please take time to review; it'd really be appreciated if I could get some feedback on this project, be it positive or negative._


	2. Chapter 2: Golden Age

Chapter 2: Golden Age

_-February 2__nd__, 2525 a.t.b: Two hundred and thirty four years after Zero's announcement-_

_-Outer Colony of Harvest-_

The colony of Harvest was as vital to the outer colonies as farms were to metropolitan cities; without its much-needed agricultural supplies, many outer colonies would go hungry in a matter of months. Such a reason was why Harvest had a relatively large Colonial Militia and an orbital defense force of twelve ships: More than enough to deal with the occasional insurrectionist or pirate attack.

One of these ships was the _Rising Sun_, a Charon-Class Light Frigate. The Charon was the second largest ship in the defense fleet, the remaining ships all falling into Corvette classes with the exception of one Stalwart-Class Light Frigate –The _Majestic_- which was the flagship of the colony's highest ranking naval officer. The ship was docked at one of Harvest's orbital elevators, the _Tiara_, along with the _Rising Sun_ while they were both undergoing maintenance.

The _Tiara_ wasn't the most beautiful space elevator on Harvest, but it was _large_; the station stretched out into space for almost four kilometers, and it's interior was around 300 meters in diameter. As such, it had many recreational facilities for both traders and naval personnel seeking a little relaxation. Among those rest-desiring military officers was the aforementioned highest-ranking naval officer: Captain John Upson.

The lounge quarters of the ship were spacious and offered many forms of entertainment, not least of which was a bar that served the finest Harvest and imported drinks. The patrons were mostly naval officers, unsurprisingly, drinking their worries away as sailors throughout history tended to do. Captain John Upson, a portly man with balding blond hair and a goatee dressed in a captain's uniform, sat at a table alongside like-minded military officers both from the Navy and from the Colonial Militia. Their laughter didn't especially disturb the patrons around them, but the conversation they were having unnerved almost the entire bar.

"Was that _really_ the story he told you? _That_ was what he was saying the pirate attacks were caused by?" A Militia officer asked Upson with a smile, before taking a sip of his drink

Another officer glared at the militiaman, "Jackson, this is serious; if that's what the Staff Sergeant said, we should try to take it a little seriousl-"

One of the naval officers burst out laughing, reeking of the large bottle of beer he had been drinking with fervor, "Come off it, Ash! That's probably the second most hilarious thing I've heard today!" He breathed, the stench of alcohol permeating his breath, "Even if he is a bloody Staff Sergeant, the guy's a damn wreck; you could tell it just by looking at his face!"

The officer named Ash rolled his eyes, "I don't want to hear that from you; you can't stay sober for a single goddamn day, and you're telling me that the Staff Seargent who's been training our asses is a damn wreck?"

The officer named Jackson interrupted before it could turn into a fight, "Cool it of, guys." He spoke, turning to Ash, "Let's look at this seriously for a moment, Ash; I know we've seen a lotta crazy things out here in space over the years, and I do respect Staff Sergeant Johnson and all, but…come on man; that stuff's just sci-fi."

"'That stuff'. Jackson?" Ash replied, raising an eyebrow

"Aliens, Petty Officer Ash; Aliens."

All those seated at the table turned towards Captain Upson, who had just spoken up after remaining silent for quite a while. Those at other tables also turned towards the Captain, eager to head his words regarding the subject. Upson was turned towards Ash, a stern expression on his face as he regarded the militiaman. "You're right, Petty Officer; undeniably right. This threat, this intrusion into our trading routes by an unknown enemy, is something we should all regard with the utmost seriousness."

The table fell quiet, silenced by the Captain's serious words. If even Upson was regarding the news given by Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson with such grave tones, then surely Harvest's current state of alertness was entirely justifi-

"And the utmost seriousness in regards to this matter should be obvious;" Upson spoke with a rapidly forming grin, as he raised one hand and made a Vulcan salute, "we save 'em some drinks and throw a huge party in honor of our new friends the Xatu-Latu!"

The table erupted in laughter, with everybody except Petty Officer Ash slamming their palms on the table in uproarious hilarity. Those on other tables also began laughing along, until the bar was filled with the sound of cacophonous chuckles and spilled drinks. Captain Upson's laughter, unsurprisingly, roared the loudest. It was a scene unbecoming of such high ranking officers, but quite frankly; nobody really cared.

Nobody; with the exception of one particular individual who suddenly stood up, catching the attention of all those in the bar.

"Captain Upson, your demeanor has never been stellar; it's never even been dignified, nor becoming of a senior officer, nor even mature." Spoke a raven-haired naval officer, "The fact that you of all people -the man in charge of Harvest's entire home defense fleet- would make light of both what's assaulting our trade routes and the warnings of a man who risked his life to find out what that 'something' was is not only irresponsible; it's absolutely despicable."

The bar fell silent once more at the newcomer's accusations, with Captain Upson's face displaying shock at the insults leveled towards him; before anger began miring his face, looking towards the naval officer who had spoken against him with both recognition and revulsion. "Commander Lamperouge, of course; you of all people would be paranoid enough to take this alien crap seriously." Upson replied with no small amount of frustration

The Commander closed his eyes and sighed, "Paranoia and caution are synonymous; if we're not prepared for everything, we aren't prepared for anything." He spoke in eloquent tones, looking around the room, "Both Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson and Staff Sergeant Byrne received heavy injuries from their encounter with this enemy; a skull fracture and a deep cauterized leg wound respectively. And their respective reports leave no doubt as to what exactly is on its way to assault us."

Upson's expression became even more furious, "So, what? You want us to fully mobilize because some wreck with a cracked skull and his buddy who managed to get himself burned said that Martians are attacking us? Is this gonna be like the time you reported us because we didn't try to stop that huge-ass meteor even when you kept whining about it?"

The Commander's face remained calm, "No, I'm afraid that stopping an easily preventable agricultural disaster is the least of our concerns this time; Captain Upson." He spoke, staring right into the portly man's eyes, "If we don't mobilize _right this instant_, then we could risk losing Harvest itself to the threat we're facing."

The Commander's words impacted against those in the room, increasing their anxiety and fear; if even the commander of the _Rising Sun_ thought that this threat was that serious; then something was certainly about to happen. Captain Upson, however, looked at the Commander's face; first in disbelief, then in amusement, "Commander Lamperouge, I _sincerely_ apologize; but I'm not going to waste my time guarding Harvest against your green men because of some Staff Sergeant who can't lay off the booze." Upson spoke, with no real sincerity present in his voice, "You can go play Cowboys and Aliens all you want, but keep us out of your damned wild goose chases."

The raven-haired Commander's eyes betrayed no surprise at Upson's words, nor any perceived anger; they were simply tranquil as ever, showing wisdom beyond their age and a certain regal air that dominated those staring into them. "Oh, but I don't believe I ever stated that the _Majestic_'s help was necessary for the defense. You can just sit on the sidelines if you wish, Captain Upson; it would probably be in your best interests, since you obviously can't fight battles worth a damn anyway."

Upson's expression, once again, turned from shock to furious anger; slamming his palms on the table as he got up to look Commander Lamperouge in the eyes. "You _arrogant, _self-centered, paranoid, idiotic…!" Upson bellowed, pausing as if trying to find what words to say next, before bursting out with one final ill-thought insult, "…**monkey**!"

The Commander merely smiled in reply, swiping his card to pay the Credits for his meal on the table before leaving the bar with an outraged Captain Upson fuming back at his table. _"That last bit was unnecessary, I suppose. But they needed to grasp the reality of this situation;" _The Commander thought, _"We can't afford to be idle now; if what we're facing really is an extra-terrestrial space-fairing alien race, then we run a great risk of starting something much greater than a few skirmishes if we don't prepare adequately."_

The idea of an alien race wasn't too strange to the Commander; certainly, with hundreds of thousands of stars residing in the Milky War, it was possible for a race as advanced (or even more advanced) than Humanity to exist. It wasn't too farfetched an idea to believe in, and if they were hostile; Humanity couldn't afford to be caught with their pants down. There was no room for discussion in the matter with Commander Lamperouge; aliens were assaulting their ships, and were about to make true first contact with them.

It also certainly didn't hurt that Lamperouge had seen _much_ stranger things in his lifetime.

"_After nearly taking over the world with the help of a magic eye, ordering the Collective Unconsciousness of Humankind it to do my bidding, and living longer than any man should have to; I _no_ longer have any right to deny the existence of aliens."_ 'Commander Leon Lamperouge' of the United Federation of Nation Space Command Navy thought with a small smile; as he headed towards his frigate to ready his men for what could be a deciding moment in human history from this point onwards. It could conceivably either turn to peaceful negotiations, or all out war with Harvest as the first casualty

And Lelouch vi Britannia was not about to lose in what could possibly be the first event to truly excite his blood in centuries.

* * *

_-One Hour Later, on the bridge of the Rising Sun-_

Simulations, simulations, and simulations; these tasking facsimiles of real combat situations made up the life of the Rising Sun's bridge crew, and took up most of their free time even during off-duty hours. For it was not merely at their Commander's orders that the crew of the _Rising Sun_ took up these battle tests even when said Commander was not present, but it was of their own will to better themselves and prepare for a real battle situation.

"When the hell are we gonna be finished with this damn simulation?" One of the crewmembers, a brown haired man with a thin goatee, asked with a sigh as he closed multiple holographic pop-ups that were flooding his screen, "It's been two and a half hours already; the Commander's probably chatting it up at the bar right now with some colonial chicks."

"The simulation is done when the Commander has returned; no sooner, no later." A blond-haired European woman with a serious expression on her face replied, "Until then, you can whine all you want; but it's going into your performance report, Shinichiro."

"Oi! Hilda! I'm a descendant of one of the founding members of the Black Knights, show some respect you witch!" The man referred to as Shinichiro spoke

"I'm sure Tamaki Shinichiro would be very proud of you, Tatsuya, but _please_ concentrate on the bloody simulation." A black-haired Japanese man with hazel brown eyes spoke, the insignia on his jacket marking him as a Lieutenant Commander; the second in command of the ship, "Our score is already beginning to fall; if we don't do well this time around, you aren't getting tomorrow's free time either."

"Tatsuya, Tatsuya, Tatsuya; if you don't feel like participating, you're always free to leave." A dark haired girl spoke with a smile, her Japanese features showing prominence, "I'm sure we'll do fine without you anyway; right Lieutenant Commander Koda?"

"All facets of the crew are needed for us to compose this melody, Aoi." A silver-haired Britannian man with some Asian features interjected with utmost seriousness before the Lieutenant Commander could reply, rapidly tapping on several holographic icons with precision as if they were piano keys. Tatsuya's face lit up, and he was about to speak up, when the man continued, "Even the seemingly unimportant ones like Tatsuya."

"Hibiki, don't try to console the trash." Hilda replied, glaring daggers at Tatsuya, "A 'witch' am I? Just don't go veering us into an asteroid; I get cold feet even seeing you on collision avoidance, you Knightmare pilot drop-out."

Tatsuya, red with rage, stood up to give Hilda a piece of his mind, "You goddamn German bit-!"

"Commander on deck!"

The voice of the Lieutenant Commander brought everybody's attention to the back of the bridge, to where their Commander was standing expectantly; looking towards Tatsuya with a raised eyebrow. The crew stood up almost immediately after, giving a near-synchronous salute with the exception of Tatsuya who stared at his Commander for a little while longer before joining the salute.

"Had you finished that sentence, Tatsuya; I'd have given you an extra round in the simulator, _alone_." Commander Lamperouge stated with the slightest hint of frustration in his voice, _"The only descendant of the original Black Knights that I get, and it has to be Tamaki's..." _He thought with disappointment, as he looked to the holographic screen displaying the score, "I see you all performed admirably, with the obvious exception of Ensign Shinichiro. Good work, all of you; especially you Lieutenant Commander Kei Koda."

"Thank you, sir." Kei replied, utmost respect present in his voice, "We were originally aiming for a higher score, but it appears as though you've significantly raised the difficulty level from yesterday."

"That I did, good of you to notice Koda." The Commander spoke with a small smile, "You're all free from simulations for the time being, there's no more need for them as of now."

The bridge crew, especially Tatsuya, were excited at this statement; relieved that their grueling hours of simulation work was finally at an end. But Kei was not so easily convinced, "You said that there was no need for them 'as of now'? If I may ask, sir; has something happened?"

'Leon Lamperouge' adopted a more serious expression in response to the question, "Let's say, Lieutenant Commander -in a hypothetical situation-, that we were about to be attacked by space ghosts." 'Leon' spoke, no humor present in his voice whatsoever, "Would you prepare the ship's defenses, knowing that space ghosts –without any shroud of doubt- do not exist in any way, shape, or form?"

Kei was caught off guard by the question, but pondered it as he would have with any other request his Commander made before replying, "Yes, I would; if it were your words that…'space ghosts' were about to assault us, and you were speaking them with your full authority, then I would prepare the ship's defenses immediately and put us all on alert."

"And what if I told you that advanced beings originating from outside Earth are about to assault Harvest, that we're quite possibly on the brink of a war far greater than anything Humanity's ever seen in its long history, and that we're the only ones capable of ensuring that our colonists on ground survive beyond this week." 'Leon' spoke, staring Kei straight in the eye, "What would you do then?"

The bridge fell silent, as those in the bridge weighed the Commander's words. Most assumed that it was some kind of joke; up until they remembered that Commander Lamperouge _never _told jokes, nor even smiled at them. Kei's words were caught in his throat as he realized that his Commander wasn't just hypothetically testing him; this was a serious situation

"I'd…I'd do the same." Kei said, stammering a bit before regaining his composure, "No matter what the claimed threat is; if you, our commanding officer, believes it be real, then there's nobody anywhere who could convince me that we shouldn't prepare for it."

Commander Lamperouge smiled once more; this was a Lieutenant Commander he could trust, a man who wouldn't panic if put on the spot, and a second in command who probably _wouldn't_ stab him in the back and sell him out to the enemy at the slightest hint of mistrust. He liked Kei for those reasons, along with his loyalty and rigid military composure.

His smile disappeared just as soon as it had appeared, "Then heighten our readiness and prepare our crew battle, Lieutenant Commander." He replied, before turning around, "Because we've got a colony to save."

Just as Commander Lamperouge had left the bridge, Tatsuya stood up once more; his face displaying disbelief.

"We're…we're seriously being attacked by aliens?" He asked, the rowdiness in his voice replaced with quiet curiosity

Lieutenant Commander Kei Koda turned to Tatsuya, his expression solemn as he nodded slowly; if the Commander was saying so with such graveness in his voice, then there was no room for debate.

"This…this is…" Aoi muttered, her expression showing nothing but sheer shock

"This is awesome!" Tatsuya Shinichiro shouted, excitement in his voice

The entire room turned to Tatsuya, with Kei simply putting his hand to his face and sighing. Their world may be about to be turned upside down, but some things never changed.

* * *

_Alright, so I introduced our favorite Britannian prince's new bridge crew. And I suppose it's pretty obvious by now that he's immortal; but we'll save the exposition on that for the next chapter_._ Yes, our 'unknown enemy' is the Covenant; and no, I will not be dwelling too much on the book lore for this upcoming battle. The war will go very different from how it did during the Halo series, but you'll see many familiar Halo characters as we go along (I got Sergeant Johnson made a cameo in this chapter, yay!)._

_Here's the crew:_

_Lieutenant Commander Kei Koba: Male, Japanese, 32 years old, hazel brown eyed, and black haired; with a stick up his ass and loyal admiration towards his Commander._

_Lieutenant Hilda Jaegar: Female, European, 28 years old, green eyed, and blond haired; with a serious witch-like demeanor and a professional admiration to her Commander.  
_

_Lieutenant Junior Grade Aoi Sasaki: Female, Japanese, 27 years old, blue eyed, and black haired; with a playful-yet-professional attitude and a...rather personal admiration towards her Commander._

_Lieutenant Junior Grade Hibiki Kugenin: Male, Japanese/Britannian, 28 years old, blue eyed, and silver haired; with a genius mind that's always got the attitude that he's playing in a concerto and a healthy admiration towards his Commander_

_Ensign Tatsuya Shinichiro: Male, Japanese, 26 years old, brown eyed, and brown haired; with a stubborn yet enthusiastic attitude and a grudging admiration towards his Commander_

_As always, thanks for reading! And don't forget to review please!_


	3. Author's Note: Explanation

_Just as an FYI: I made a typo in last chapter's author note, our dashing second-in-command's name is Lieutenant Kei Koda; not Kei Koba._

_Right, so, sorry about the long wait period; family issues coupled with sporadic computer access, preparing for school, and getting my driver's license kinda didn't leave me with much time and inspiration._

_Thank you for all the reviews! I really appreciate all the input, and every new review I see gets me raring to write a few more pages for the story! I definitely have no intention of ending it here, nor anywhere even close to where we are now._

_The next chapter is about half-done; you should see it sometime during early September. Not going to give a deadline, because I'm really bad with those, but trust me when I say that I'm working on it and it should be out soon._

_Thanks again for all the support!_


	4. Chapter 3: The Covenant

Chapter Three: The Covenant

**_-2018 a.t.b, three days after the Zero Requiem-_**

"_I have…destroyed the world…"_

Eternal sunset dawned over the world, a realm filled with nothingness; a universe of thought. Drifting through this world of consciousness, a lithe body dressed in white robes floated on the endless currents of time; despised by many, yet beloved by some.

"_And created it…anew._

The body was set to rest, laying on a platform of stone hovering in the billowing clouds of eternal dusk. Slowly, the man's eyes opened; his pupils taking in surroundings before him. He sat up, getting to his feet as he beheld the strange world in which he now existed.

"Where…am I?" The man asked out loud, looking around the area in confusion

"You are in the World, Demon Emperor; the World of Unconsciousness."

The raven-haired man quickly turned around, trying to find exactly where the voice had come from; but it simply hadn't come from anywhere: or to be more precise, it had come from _everywhere_. "C's World; a Realm you are part of, an Existence you saved." The voice spoke, sounding as if multiple voices were speaking in unison

"C's…World?" The violet-eyed man asked, confusion in his voice, _"Does this mean that…I'm dead, and this…is my afterlife?"_ He thought

"No." The voice replied, as if it could read his thoughts, "You have died, but this is not your afterlife; what awaits one after death is oneness with the World, but you have been rejected this privilege; the 99th Emperor of Britannia, Zero of the Black Knights,"

"Lelouch vi Britannia."

At those words, Lelouch felt his right hand burning, glowing crimson as a painful burning sensation ran across his palm. Looking towards his hand, he saw a bright red mark running across his palm; glowing fiercely as the pain slowly faded away. "Geass…" Lelouch spoke with astonishment, recognizing the symbol, "The Code…"

"I'm…_immortal_?" Lelouch asked with trepidation, looking up to the skies for an answer

"You have been cursed with the Mark of Immortality, Lelouch."

The raven-haired prince turned around, his eyes widening as he beheld the intimidating visage of the very last man he ever wanted to see. "Father…?"

Charles zi Britannia's grin widened, as he walked closer to Lelouch on the platform of stone, "Cursed to forever walk the earth forevermore, as you try to find some meaning in your eternal existence. A suitable punishment for disobeying your own father, don't you think?"

"You _gave_ this power to me?!" Lelouch replied with anger, his eyes displaying barely held back rage, "You gave me _immortality_ as revenge for what I did to you?"

"Don't give him more credit than what he's due." Spoke a feminine voice, all to familiar to Lelouch, "The Code transfers to the closest eligible candidate upon its owner's return to the World of C, you were just unlucky."

Lelouch turned once more, lime green hair and eyes assaulting his vision immediately, "C.C?" He asked, looking upon his closest confidant; his witch

"Codes can't just go out of existence, Lelouch. " C.C spoke with a sad smile, as she too walked closer to him, "You're the same as me now, cursed to forever roam the earth; rejected from the World of C."

Lelouch's face registered shock as the reality of the situation finally hit him, "What of the Zero Requiem? If I'm not dead, then there's no point to any of this!" He shouted, clenching his glowing fist in anger, _"I haven't atoned for anything; I've just cheated my way out of my own execution; the world no longer needs or wants me."_

"On the contrary, Lelouch." Charles replied to Lelouch's thoughts, his grin disappearing, "The world still needs you, now more than ever; that is why the Code chose you. In the future, far beyond the current age, C's World has predicted a calamity of unspeakable scale. Since you refused my way out of it, you've got to take responsibility in making sure it never happens."

Lelouch's eyes widened once more as he heard the words coming out of his father's mouth, turning to C.C for confirmation. But the green-haired witch simply shook her head, "I've got no idea what he's talking about; I'm not dead, so I don't know what the World of C is thinking. But it's probably important."

"Indeed, Lelouch vi Britannia." Stated another male voice from behind Lelouch, his childish appearance being instantly recognizable as he sighed, "There is nobody who can halt this calamity but you now."

"V.V." Lelouch spoke, beholding the blond-haired former immortal standing in front of him

"Sorry, Lulu." Said another female voice, sending shivers down Lelouch's spine as he recognized who it was, "But the World of C isn't ready for you yet; it won't be for a long time."

Lelouch turned around once again, his eyes taking in the sight of a woman who he indirectly caused unbearable suffering, "Shirley…" He spoke, taking in the sight of the orange-haired girl's smile

"We're all counting on you, Lelouch."

"…Euphemia." Lelouch whispered immediately, refusing to turn around this time and face his biggest regret, but Euphemia did not seem to mind; closing in on him as she hugged him from behind

"It's okay, really. You don't have to look at me." Euphemia said, her kind tones reverberating through the cold-hearted Britannian prince, "I know what you did was an accident; and I'd really be pushing it if I kept being angry at you considering what you're going to have to face."

As Euphemia let go of her half-brother, Lelouch turned to face her; his face impassive as his logical side finally kicked in, "What am I going up against? What the hell is so much of a threat that I have to be brought back from the dead to face it?"

Euphermia's face fell in sadness, as C.C interrupted, "They can't tell you, Lelouch." She spoke with a sigh, "The World of C is forbidden from telling anybody knowledge of the future directly, it's just one of the many weird rules of how it works; and they're all part of it now."

"Rest assured, nephew." V.V began, walking up to the two, "It's _very_ dangerous, even to us here in the World of C; I wish you hadn't destroyed the Sword of Akasha, it realty could've helped in stopping it."

"I think he can manage without your insane world-ending device, V.V" C.C replied with a frown, "Those that came before never intended for it to be used that way."

Lelouch paused in thought, _"Those that came before?"_

"Yeah! You guys went _way_ overboard!" Shirley exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air as she turned to Charles and V.V, "What the hell were you _thinking_?!"

Euphemia giggled, as she beheld how taken aback Lelouch was from the former Emperor of Britannia and his brother being berated by a high school girl, "Everybody's equal in the World of C." She explained to Lelouch with a smile

"I'm…not sure if I can stop this calamity you speak of," Lelouch said with sadness, looking down to his Code-imbedded palm, "Immortal or not, I'm just one man; one man who could save any of you, one man who killed all of you."

"Be that as it may, Lelouch." Charles replied, stopping Euphermia and Shirley from speaking comforting words, "The World of C has nobody else it can rely on; you either do it, or all your efforts towards saving humanity goes to waste."

"So what is it going to be, boy?" V.V asked with a smile, "You going to back down from the challenge? Or are you going to rise up against it and take responsibility for what you've done?"

"You know you don't have to, Lelouch." Euphemia said kindly, holding his right hand, "Maybe it's our destiny to fade away; you've done so much for us already."

"Yeah, Lulu!" Shirley said, looking up to Lelouch as she held his left hand, "You don't have to if it's too hard; I don't want to force you to do anything."

"But it's not too hard, is it?" C.C asked with her trademark grin, coming up between the two girls, "Because you're my warlock; the man who restored the pride of the Japanese, the man who toppled the Britannian Empire, and the man who saved the World of C."

"So, my son; what is your answer?" A new female voice asked, from behind Lelouch

The raven-haired prince closed his eyes, looking downwards as he mulled in thought, before opening his violet eyes with resolution as he turned towards his one and only mother.

"I will move forward, I will meet apocalyptic enemy head on," Lelouch replied resolutely, turning his head as he looked towards all the friends and family who surrounded him, "And I will defeat it with my own two hands. The World of C…can put its faith into me."

Marianne smiled kindly, as she beheld her beloved son, "Then go, return back to the world of the living. We'll be waiting for you and C.C to return."

Lelouch smiled, as the Code on his palm faded into invisibility; having finally accepted it into himself, "But of course, no matter how many years pass; I will never yield to this enemy of yours, and I will not fail the trust of you all put into me."

Lelouch's body began fading away, as he spoke his final words confidently to the World of C: His friends, family, and allies.

"Because I am Zero, the Man of Miracles; and I yearn for_ tomorrow_."

* * *

**_-__February 3__rd__, 2525 a.t.b__-_**

**_-Outer Colony of Harvest, Orbital Station 'Tiara'-_**

The Tiara's command center was busier than what one might expect; the station, after all, had to be able to content with docking ships, incoming and outgoing elevators, and keeping the orbital stability of the seven elevators tethered to it on a daily basis. But one aspect of the command center was rather neglected: The sensory suites. Radar and spectroscopes were useful for detecting asteroids and avoiding collisions, but such tasks were easily accomplished by the elevator's A.I, Sif, and therefore required little human interface.

As such, the Britannian female sensory officer manning the station had little work to do; hence why she was currently stimulating her…intellectual curiosity with an almost ancient pastime that had somehow survived through the ages.

"Almost…_almost…_" She spoke, carefully tapping on her station's screens with the trepidation of a bomb disarmer

The slam of a palm on her station brought her back to reality, as she recoiled backwards and turned to the man who was now standing over her, "Marie, what the _hell_ are you doing?" He asked suspiciously, his voice brimming with authority

"Nothing! Sir!" The sensory officer replied with dread, moving her hand slowly to close the window open on her screen before the man caught it and pushed it away

"Is that _Minesweeper_?" The man asked, surprise evident in his voice, "I haven't even _seen_ that game around for the last twenty-five years, let alone on the Harvest net, where the hell did you download that?"

Marie saw her chance for escape, and grasped at it, "My parents sent me a hard-copy from Reach, retro games are getting pretty popular there apparently."

"Well, I'll be damned." The man replied, completely losing his interest in admonishing the sensory officer for slacking off, "I was pretty good at this back in the day, got the best high score out of all my bridge mates. Can I have a go after you're done with this match?"

Marie smiled, relieved to have been let off the hook, "Certainly, sir. But I'm in a bit of a pinch right now, as you can see; so you probably won't have to wait very long."

The man took a closer look at the screen, "Hmm, yeah; that's a tough one." He muttered, rubbing his chin in thought, before grinning, "But I can probably find you a safe spot to click; you've just gotta think about-"

"Sir, I'm terrible sorry to interrupt your _fascinating_ conversation on the strategies of a ridiculously simple single-player retro game;"

Both Marie and her superior officer turned to look with surprise at Sif, the elevator's A.I, whose avatar had appeared before them. Sif, like most UFNSC , chose to display herself with a human avatar. She 'wore' an ankle-length sleeveless gown colored in interwoven sunset hues and a red poncho that draped over her shoulders, with long golden hair that fell in waves to the middle of her back. She had the appearance of Nordic royalty, which was appropriate; given that most of Harvest's settlers were Britannians that could trace their ancestry to Scandinavia.

"But we have a rapidly approaching object of unknown origin, composition, and _intention_ currently heading towards us, so forgive me if I feel this to be a more pressing matter." Sif finished, a weary look on her face

The officer straightened up immediately, with Marie quickly closing her Minesweeper screen as the realization of what Sif had just said finally hit her.

"Intention?" A confused Marie asked, beating her superior officer to the question, "It's…not an asteroid?"

Sif looked even more annoyed with the question, bringing up a live spectroscopic and radar analysis of the object, "Unless asteroids are now capable of undetected star system incursions, self-propulsion, and _course correction_; then I highly doubt that it's any natural astronomic phenomenon, Ensign." She spoke, gesturing to the object's obviously intelligent movements

The disbelieving gazes of the two physical Humans grew further, with the officer in charge trembling slightly as realization finally hit him with the force of a typhoon.

"Then…these are the aliens; aren't they?" He muttered, stepping back as he beheld the screen before him, "These are the aliens that Sergeant Johnson and Commander Lamperouge were warning us about…" He spoke in a somewhat louder voice, yet one still quaking with fear

Sif's expression turned grave as she nodded, confirming the man's worst fears.

Harvest was under attack, by an enemy thought to have existed only in fiction: Up until now.

"Permission to sound the station's alarm and warn the fleet and ground forces, sir?" Sif asked, already knowing the answer

* * *

**_-Charon-Class Light Frigate 'Rising Sun', Harvest Inner Orbit-_**

Currently, the bridge crew of the Rising Sun was looking at a hologram of the object currently approaching them obtained from spectroscopic analysis. It only showed the shape of the object and it's composition, but that much was more than enough cause for serious concern. It was made out of materials unknown to science, _human_ science at least, and had a roughly oblong shape with a bulbous, whale-like front and a sleek silhouette.

"Either the Innies are playing a _really _expensive prank on us," Tatsuya began, breaking the silence, "Or we've got an alien spaceship coming to kill us all."

Ignoring Tatsuya's words, Hilda turned to her Lieutenant Commander with concern etched on her face, "The ship is prepped for battle; Archer missile pods are keyed and our VARIS cannon is coming online, but the enemy is still too far away to target, and it hasn't made its intentions clear yet."

Aoi gritted her teeth, "Intentions? I think they made their intentions clear enough when they raided our trading vessels and almost killed our marines." She spoke, obviously unnerved by the rapidly approaching alien ship, "I say we fire on it now, before they have a chance to do the same."

"Aoi, they _could_ be coming with peaceful intentions." Hibiki spoke, trying to get a positive view of the situation, "Certainly, no one small group of Humans can represent all of humanity; perhaps those vessels were simply raided by alien pirate ships acting on their own accord, and this vessel is approaching us to reach some sort of peaceful agreement."

"I'm afraid we don't have the luxury of guessing, Lieutenant Kugenin."

The bridge crew turned to Commander Lamperouge, who stared upon the hologram displaying the incoming object with his keen violet eyes; his emotions, as always, were almost completely hidden behind a façade of professionalism; but Lieutenant Commander Kei Koda, to his great shock, could almost make out the tiniest glint of fear in his eyes. "From what we've already seen, the alien vessel possesses a hull armored with completely unknown materials and a very fast propulsion system. It's large size, comparable to a cruiser in length, would mean that the ship most probably possesses a powerful array of weaponry."

"But, Commander," Kei replied, eyeing the hologram as he spoke, "I don't see any cannons or missile pods in the spectroscopic analysis; it doesn't seem very dangerous at all."

Leon Lamperouge turned to his second-in-command, his hard violet gaze piercing the man's very soul, "That's _exactly_ why this is a cause for concern; if the ship is indeed armed, then it obviously possesses weaponry that's either beyond our comprehension or far beyond our technological level. What we've seen so far, without even actually getting a glimpse of the ship and it's capabilities, already puts it ahead of us technologically."

Suddenly, before the crew could speak up, a video transmission came up from the _Majestic_ displaying a blue-eyed brown-haired man with a pointed beard and an expression of nervousness escaping his attempts at assuming a commanding façade.

"Commander Lamperouge, I trust you've been made aware of the situation." Captain John Upson spoke, a drop of sweat falling down the side of his face, "Now, I don't want to hear an 'I told you so' or a 'we should've prepared more for this'; all I want to know is if your ship is prepared for what we may be about to face."

'Leon' showed no signs of even smirking as he beheld the signs of a man whom was supposedly his superior officer melting down in the face of true pressure. "Oh, I assure you Captain Upson; I had no intention of doing anything of the sort." He replied, maintaining proper naval conduct with said superior officer nonetheless, "My ship is prepared for combat; and all my men and women are simply awaiting the order to fire. If I may ask, though; what is our fleet's strategy regarding the matter?"

Captain John Upson looked slightly annoyed with the question, "We await the alien ship's approach, discern its intentions, and act accordingly; all weapons are to be kept at medium readiness, and all ships will maintain the their current status and position until then." He spoke, "Why? Do you find that _insufficient_ as well?"

"Oh, quite the contrary; " Commander Lamperouge spoke in a polite voice, his face displaying utmost sincerity, "I find that to be an _excellent_ strategy, Captain Upson."

There was a pause as both Leon's crew and Captain Upson found themselves surprised with the Commander's words, "Well…that's good then." Upson spoke, in a somewhat relieved voice, "Then all that's left is to-"

"If you want to get us all killed, that is."

Upson's face went through the almost routine emotions of confusion, shock, and sheer anger almost like clockwork; as Lamperouge continued speaking, "The alien ship's potential danger eclipses anything we've ever encountered before, and you want us to stay off-formation and keep our fingers off the triggers because –and I'm just guessing here-, you don't want them to assume that we're _hostile_."

The Britannian Captain's expression grew even more impatient at 'Leon's' words, proving the veracity of his claim, "Are you so damn bloodthirsty that you want to spark a damn intergalactic war?! We can't risk alienating these aliens with a battle formation for our first contact!"

The Commander, for once, allowed annoyance to sully his expression as he finally ran out of patience for his superior officer, "And are you so _cowardly_ that you're not willing to even take into consideration the fact that they may already be hostile to us? May I remind you that this is _not_ our first contact with them; their forces have been responsible for multiple lost trading ships and the attempted murder of two UFNSC Marines."

Captain Upson slammed his palms on the table in anger, the sound travelling through the comms and startling a few of the _Rising Sun_'s crewmembers, the ship's Commander did not even flinch; expecting this sort of reaction from a man like Upson who wasn't used to getting and hearing exactly what he wanted. "If you can't follow my orders, Commander Lamperouge, then by the end of this all I _will_ have you reprimanded! And should your actions start off a damn war with these aliens, we will _all_ have to pay the price for your mistake!" Captain Upson shouted, having lost the will to continue the discussion

"And should your actions result in the first _lost_ battle of this hypothesized war, Captain." Commander Lamperouge replied, his piercing violet eyes gazing into the Britannian Captain's furious blue ones, "Then you will finally share the same disgrace your ancestor did all those hundreds of years ago, having lost the lives of everybody under your command and protection along with your own to an enemy you willingly didn't prepare for."

John Upson flinched in shock from the raven-haired Commander's words, which then switched over to indescribable fury as he almost roared at Leon's words. He fumbled with his words for a while longer, trying to find the correct retort within his enraged mind, before simply shutting off the comm-link; his face disappearing from the holographic screen.

Leon turned to his crew, "All hands to battle stations, and keep the MAC charged and ready. When the ship comes in range, keep all weapons targeted on it and wait for my order to fire."

Kei looked towards his Commander, the Japanese man's brows furrowing in thought, "So, are we going to follow the Captain's orders, sir?"

Lamperouge turned towards his subordinate, "I suppose we have little choice in the matter, wouldn't you say?" He replied, before turning away to look at one of the screens

"With all due respect, Commander." Kei said, a degree of frustration in his voice, "Captain Upson's orders regarding this matter are, to put it frankly, strategically unsound; the aliens have the complete drop on us if we aren't in formation, especially considering that we're going to let them fire first."

Commmander Lamperouge did not turn around, continuing on looking at the screen. "Can't say that I disagree with you, Lieutenant Commander. But orders are orders." He replied, in an uncharacteristically disinterested voice

Kei sat back down in his chair, he and the rest of the crew somewhat dissatisfied with the Commander's words internally; but keeping his rigid military composure undisturbed as he replied with a "Yes, sir." to his Commander's reply.

But unbeknownst to him, a small grin began forming on the face of his raven-haired leader as he watched the enemy ship come closer and closer to their lines; thankful that his subordinates had more sense in them than the unfortunate descendant of a man he'd killed so very long ago.

* * *

**_-CAG-Class Cruiser 'Rapid Conversion', Harvest Outer Orbit-_**

The room was both dark and silent, reeking of a putrid stench similar to that of a room full of apes; but its inhabitants did not seem to mind, crowding around a screen that displayed the planet before them. Several humanoid figures stood across the room, their shaggy hides and heavy breathing making them seem like little more than animals. But they were far more dangerous than mere animals; these beings were the Jiralhanae, the 'Brutes': Giant hairy bipedal beings with extremely aggressive personality traits and the strength to back it up. Intellectually, they were often far from impressive; but they were still sentient beings that were bred for war since the very day they were born.

On a large stone chair, similar to a throne, sat Maccabeus: a Jiralhanae Chieftain. His head rested on his arm as he beheld the world that his ship was rapidly approaching; grinning in anticipation as he wondered just what treasures awaited him on this 'Harvest'. Around him were his most trusted pack members: Tartarus, his nephew and the security officer of the 'Rapid Conversion'; and Vorenus, his close friend and second in command.

"Chieftain, we are approaching within firing range of the Heretics." Vorenus spoke, his bass tones rumbling through the air, "Their ships show primitive design, but they do have energy shielding. We should approach this matter with care."

Tartarus, a large Jiralhanae with silver fur, begged to differ, "_Care_? The Prophet of Truth has already condemned these Heretics to a holy cleansing for their defilation of the works of our gods; we need not give thought to their primitive attempts at defense, we should open fire immediately lest they fire first!"

Maccabeus looked displeased at his nephew's statements, the larger Brute standing up to eye level with him, "Tartarus, surely you jest? We cannot risk damaging any artifacts on the world's surface; the Heretics deserve a chance to surrender and recant their sacrilegious ways if only to allow us undisturbed access to the treasures of our gods."

"If I may interject, Chieftain." Vorenus spoke, pointing towards the screen, "After the sheer audacity of Heresy that they have committed and the number of ships they have volleyed against us; there is little doubt that the Heretics will refuse our terms. The only option we have is to destroy all those ships in our path before scouring the planet clean of relics, lest we invite the anger of the Prophet of Truth by disobeying his orders to cleanse this world."

"Vorenus speaks sense, at long last." Tartarus stated, staring at his uncle impatiently and ignoring Vorenus' indignation at his remark, "We must attack _now_, or risk losing the first attack and being overwhelmed by the numbers of their pathetic ships. They will not surrender to us, and nor should they; for we shall slaughter them, eviscerate their bodies, and burn their world until it is naught but _glass._"

Maccabeus thought for a bit more, before turning towards Vorenus; his mind finally made up, "Open communications with them, we will use what little the Huragok has managed to decipher of their language to speak with them."

Tartarus looked wary of his uncle's orders, "What will you say to them?" He asked, obviously suspicious that his uncle was going to attempt to negotiate some kind of peace. But Maccabeus simply smiled slightly in reply, displaying his fanged teeth.

"A proclamation."

* * *

**_-Stalwart-Class Light Frigate 'Majestic', Harvest Inner Orbit-_**

Captain Upson sweated nervously as he watched the alien ship get closer and closer, seemingly taunting them with defiance as it repeatedly refused to reply to the hails his ship was sending them. But this could easily be due to the fact that they obviously did not understand any Human languages, and so were considering their words carefully. This was, quite blatantly, the real reason they were refusing the respond; how could he think otherwise?

He reassured himself; it_ obviously_ wasn't because they were hoping to come in closer for a devastating assault on their ships, the aliens _probably_ had no hostile intentions; and were simply hoping to communicate with them. Maybe they were even going to apologize for blowing up UFNSC trading ships; there was even the chance this was simply the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship with an advanced alien race!

Yet, despite John Upson's self-assurances, his words took away nothing from the sheer terror he felt towards the incoming vessel. His family's name had already been tarnished enough from the mistakes of his ancestors, but the Upson lineage would suffer a lot more from one of its kin losing an entire world than it did when General Upson of the Britannian Airforce lost both his entire fleet of FLOAT ships to a Black Knight raiding party and his own life due to his obsession with his reputation. If only that thrice-damned Commander hadn't brought the matter up, he wouldn't have been bloody worrying about it so much.

Ah yes, Commander Leon Lamperouge: a class-A smartass straight from Luna OCS Academy. The man came to Harvest only a year ago, and right from the very start began questioning his decisions and disrespecting his authority. He would never have let him get away with any of it if only he hadn't wooed every damn officer in the Harvest Defense Fleet with his words and looks to his side. The only thing Upson had on him was rank and older connections, but Lamperouge had been stealing all those connections without even _trying_ in the last year. He saw the looks his damn crew gave him every time he opened a comm-link to his ship; they were devoted beyond reason, and he'd never managed to get that kind of insane admiration from his own crew.

"_But now is the time, now's when I finally show that bastard his place!"_ Upson thought with a grin_._ If Upson could reach out to these aliens and establish friendly contact, who _knows_ what kind of advanced technology they could offer humanity? He'd be famous; known galaxy-wide as the first man who made contact with prosperity bringing aliens. Hell, they'd probably even promote him to an Admiral or even the Fleet Admiral of the UFNSC; then he could rub it in that cocky brat's face and bring honor to his family name once more.

Upson's thoughts of glory were interrupted, as his communications officer snapped him out of stupor, "Sir!" He spoke with alarm, "The unknown vessel has just sent us a message; it appears to be written in English."

At that, Upson's mood went up dramatically; almost grinning from sheer happiness: The aliens wanted to and could communicate with humanity; his reputation would soar far above everything he'd ever dreamed of, finally granting him the respect he _deserved._ "What does it say? Read it out!" Upson demanded, growing increasingly impatient as he leaned forward on his chair

The comms officer pressed an icon, opening the message and displaying it to the entire bridge. Upson's face suddenly paled as he slowly beheld the words written before him, collapsing to his seat. One of his crewmembers stood up slowly, shaking as he read the words on the screen out loud.

"_Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we…"_ He spoke, his voice laced with fear

"_We are their instruments."_ Captain Upson finished, terrified beyond measure; as alerts began sounding loudly

The last thought going through John Upson's mind was how he had failed his colony, failed his people, and tarnished his lineage once more. Before a bright flash of light filled with bridge, ceasing his thoughts, his career, and his life for eternity.

* * *

**_-Charon-Class Light Frigate 'Rising Sun', Same Time-_**

Lieutenant Commander Kei Koda's eyes widened as he beheld four shining blue comet-like objects eject from the unknown vessel like speeding meteors and smash into the _Majestic_, cutting through its Blaze Luminous shielding with the second 'comet' and blasting apart its bridge with the third. With the loss of its bridge, the _Majestic_ was unable to return fire; as the enemy ship unleashed another type of weapon, a bright continuous blue beam of energy that erupted out of it's bow, which gutted it straight through its Sakuradite reactor and destroyed it in a large explosion. The shockwave from the detonation spread across the battlefield, showering ships in debris and depleting their shielding.

The crew of the _Rising Sun_ was surprised beyond belief; the _Majestic_, a Stalwart-class frigate with 60 centimeters of Titanium-A armor and Blaze Luminous shielding, was destroyed in only a few seconds by the fire of a single ship. Such devastation was almost unheard of in battles against Insurrectionist ships. Even Commander Lamperouge, a veteran of naval combat, was taken by surprise from the sheer power of the enemy's weapons. The aliens then took advantage of the moment, blasting apart a corvette before it had a chance to open fire with two of its torpedoes.

It was then that, after countless centuries, Commander Lamperouge took the back seat…

"All forces, this is Commander Leon Lamperouge!" The raven-haired commander spoke, his voice laden with authority, "Captain John Upson is presumed KIA; as such, I will be assuming command of the fleet. The alien vessel has shown itself to be hostile; return fire with a full barrage, send out lifeboats to recover any survivors from the _Majestic_ and the _Crown_, and assume battle formation!" He ordered, throwing his arm to one side as the rush of battle filled his veins, "The fate of Harvest depends on us now!"

…and Lelouch vi Britannia emerged from his dormancy, ready to protect the people he swore to eternally safeguard.

"Lieutenant Jaeger, Lieutenant Aoi; unleash a hail of Archer missile pods, but keep half of them in reserve." Lelouch ordered, turning towards the enemy ship that he could now see through the bridge's glass viewing deck, "Keep all other weapons on standby, we need to assess the enemy's capability."

The Harvest defense fleet opened fire with a hailstorm of Archer missiles, ship-to-ship missiles that could deplete shielding easily and destroy or disable all but the largest UFNSC warships. But to the great shock of the fleet, the alien ship began rapidly firing dozens of beam weapons from its hull; detonating over half the missiles before they even got close to the ship. What missiles did impact against the ship seemingly did negligible damage to its own energy shielding, which consisted of a blue hexagonal honeycombed sphere that covered the entire ship; it was obviously far more powerful than Blaze Luminous technology.

"No way…" Tatsuya spoke with disbelief, "A whole barrage of Archers, and not a scratch on that thing? It's freaking unstoppable!"

The enemy ship fired once more, another bright torpedo that was seemingly made out of energy speeding towards a corvette. The small vessel managed to dodge the torpedo, but the projectile simply turned around; guided by some unseen force as it impacted against the vessel's side and destroyed it in a flash of light. Now, the defense fleet was reduced to nine ships; only eight small corvettes and a light frigate versus an alien juggernaut the size of a cruiser with weapons that made a mockery of the UFNSC ships.

"Sir, there's no way we can beat that thing with our missiles!" Aoi exclaimed, her face tinged with fear, "We need to open fire with the VARIS, before the enemy finishes us off!"

The Commander turned towards Aoi, keeping his expression neutral, "Negative, hold the MAC's charge for now." He spoke, before gazing upon the enemy ship, _"If the VARIS fails to take it out in one hit, we'll be sitting ducks; we have to take out that shielding first."_ Lelouch thought, analyzing the situation before him

Yet another corvette fell to the enemy's fire, gutted from stern to stern by the enemy's bow-mounted beam weapon. The fleet fired yet another storm of missiles, attempting to overwhelm its point-defenses and shielding by sheer numbers, but to no avail; as the ship shot down and absorbed all of the Archer missiles with its powerful shielding. Morale was sinking among the fleet, faced with the behemoth standing before them.

"Commander Lamperouge!" The captain of a corvette spoke through the comms, urgency in his voice, "We're hopelessly outgunned! The enemy has us by our throats! We have to retreat, because at this rate; we're all going to die!"

Similar calls were made to Commander Lamperouge by the other captains, afraid for their lives against this unknown enemy that seemingly had no weaknesses. The _Rising Sun_'s crew turned towards their Commander respectfully, expecting him to spout insults of cowardice at the captains and come up with _something _that would defeat the enemy.

Lelouch paused for a moment, looking at his crew, before looking once more at the alien ship, before finally speaking up in a firm and commanding voice: "All ships, this is Commander Lamperouge speaking;"

"Retreat to Harvest's surface immediately."

The crew turned towards Lelouch with startled expressions on their faces, baffled at the words coming out of his mouth. _"What?"_ Tatsuya almost whispered, barely believing what he was hearing

"All ships are free to choose their own destination upon arrival; but you are advised to take defensive positions above our major cities," Lelouch spoke, his face showing no expressions as he gave his orders, "This battle is beyond our ability to win; the aliens possess technology which far outstrips our capabilities."

The captains of the corvettes were surprised by Commander Lamperouge's words, but complied nonetheless; fleeing towards Harvest before they too could become prey to the alien vessel's energy weapons. Hibiki Kugenin turned towards Lelouch, astonishment present on his face, "Commander, are we going to abandon Harvest without a fight? The colonists are depending on us!"

"Lieutenant Kugenin," Lelouch replied, without missing a beat, "Take us to Harvest's surface, to the Valhalla Fields near Utgard. That is an _order._" He stated, his violet eyes staring down the silver-haired Britannian man

Hibiki was taken aback by his Commander's words, his desire to protect Harvest's settlers clashing with his obligation to obey the orders of his superiors; but this confliction did not last long, as said Commander was not finished speaking.

"This fight is _far_ from finished." Lelouch spoke, staring upon the enemy ship that was now focused solely on them, "The enemy think that we've been defeated, and this will work to our advantage. I have no intention to allow them to take Harvest; we will fight them on the fields of Valhalla, and we will _win_."

The crew was silent for a moment, before a single voice spoke up. "Sir, what do you have planned?" Kei asked

Lelouch turned towards his subordinate, a small smirk encroaching upon his lips.

"A checkmate, of course."

* * *

_And there we have it; immortality has been explained, the Covenant have appeared, and Lelouch is back in action. Sorry it took so long to publish, but I managed to finish it all and make this chapter twice as long as the last one!_

_To everybody who asked about Knightmare Frames, they'll be included next chapter; so don't you worry. If anybody's got any ideas for Knightmare Frames, please send me a PM or include it in your review; I'll consider including it into the story._

_So, once again, thank you for reading; and please don't forget to review!_


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